


Cursed Lands

by whitehorsetiger



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Love, M/M, Magic AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 21:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15299943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitehorsetiger/pseuds/whitehorsetiger
Summary: Keith could not remember how he ended up here, or where he really was. All he could remember was waking up in this small glade, right by the water’s edge. He was alone here, with nothing but his name. He’d climbed to the top of the waterfall, looking out past where he was. There was nothing, only dead trees of what he could assume was once a huge forest. There was very little else, dead grass and murky-looking skies.The land is cursed, creatures roam the land, killing anyone and anything unfortunate enough to be caught outside the safe havens. In one of these lives Keith, with no memory of his life before, with only a pixie for company. That is, until he's visited by Lance, the only person to visit his haven and return after leaving. However, as the 100th year of the curse approaches and it gets steadily stronger, there must be a way to break it. There may be something more to Keith than meets the eye.





	Cursed Lands

Keith could not remember how he ended up here, or where he really was. All he could remember was waking up in this small glade, right by the water’s edge. He was alone here, with nothing but his name. He’d climbed to the top of the waterfall, looking out past where he was. There was nothing, only dead trees of what he could assume was once a huge forest. There was very little else, dead grass and murky-looking skies. Keith was already exhausted, he’d barely been awake for very long yet already he could feel his body ache with exhaustion. He clambered back down the rocks, curling up on the soft grass and dropping to sleep.

Days turned into months, months to years and Keith had no idea how long he was there. There was no point counting them. His only constant companion was a sprite called Pidge, she could be a bit bossy and sometimes spoke much too fast for Keith to understand. It was good though, at least he had someone to talk too.

Occasionally other people would visit too, carrying glowing weapons and telling stories of the world outside. Stories of nothing but death and monsters, constantly hunting whatever unfortunate soul was caught outside the safe areas. They stayed until their wounds were healed and gained enough energy back to continue travelling, they then left, with promises of coming back. The first few times, Keith enjoyed, it was nice to have someone other than Pidge to talk too. That was, until no one ever came back. Keith didn’t know if they’d died, or forgotten about him, it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was that he shouldn’t get attached.

****

Keith lent against the smooth rock wall, around half way up the waterfall. Pidge was splayed out on a small ledge just above him, one arm dangling over the side.  
“I’m bored,” she said, letting out a long breath.  
She sat up, pushing herself to her feet. Spreading her wings, she took off towards the top of the waterfall. Keith watched her go, following her tiny glowing form climbing into the sky. She hovered high above the rocks, not high enough to leave the safety of the glade but enough to look pretty far.

Keith lost her interest in her after a few minutes, eyes returning to where he was tracing shapes in the loose gravel with his knife. He did this for a little while, tracing out the shape of a building, towers, archways, gates. Keith frowned down at the palace he’d drawn, it seemed familiar.  
“Keith!” Pidge shouted suddenly, diving to tug on Keith’s hair, “Someone’s coming!”  
“What?” Keith asked, slightly unimpressed, “People pass by.”  
Pidge sighed, rolling her eyes.  
“Someone is coming here,” she said.  
“And?” Keith said, crossing his arms.  
“Come on! A new person! Entertainment!” Pidge said, swinging on his hair, “No offense, but you’re boring.”  
Keith glared at her, or at least tried to as she swung off his hair. With a sigh, he pushed himself onto his feet, clambering up to the top of the waterfall.

There they were, well, he was. Galloping through the dead forest on the back of a horse, large beasts were chasing after them.   
“He might not make it,” Keith said, watching as one of the creatures swooped down.  
A bolt of brilliant light shot from the figure, hitting the creature, causing it to dissolve.  
“He’s been holding them off,” Pidge said, dropping onto Keith’s shoulder, “He’s close.”  
The horse seemed to be going all out, desperately trying to get away from the creatures. Another shot of light hit the closest creature, causing it to dissolve. They watched as the rider passed through the invisible barrier, the creatures hitting it and bouncing off.  
“He made it,” Pidge said.  
“Lucky,” Keith said idly, turning to climb back down.  
“I’m going to go find him,” Pidge said.  
Keith waved his hand in a whatever way, dropping down to the next ledge.  
“It’s going to be more interesting then this,” Pidge said idly, before darting off.  
Keith rolled his eyes, tempted to jump into the lake to make the climbing process faster. Probably not the best idea.

The rider’s name was Lance. Like everyone else who ended up in the glade, he was a rider. Travelling between havens, the only places safe from the creatures and curse, transporting supplies and messages between them. He’d been on his way home when he got caught out by the creatures, unfortunately almost running out of arrows. This glade had saved his life. Keith listened to all of this with mild interest, perched a short distance away. Pidge was right, the stories were more interesting than just sitting there.

“So, tell us about the world,” Pidge said, laid out in the grass, “We haven’t left this glade.”  
“What? Never?” Lance said, pretty eyes widening in surprise.  
Wait, no, not pretty.  
“No,” Keith said, “Or did you not notice the creatures that want to tear us apart just outside?”  
Lance glared over at him, letting out a long sigh.  
“You could get some banishment weapons,” Lance said, “Although I suppose braving the cursed lands isn’t for everyone.”  
Keith glowered, “We don’t know how to get banishment weapons.”  
He crossed his arms purposefully not mentioning how when he’d tried to cross the barrier he couldn’t.  
“Really?” Lance tilted his head to one side, “There’s just the two of you here?”  
“Yup,” Pidge said, “It gets boring after a while.”  
“I can’t even imagine,” Lance laughed, “I think I’d go crazy if I could only talk to one person.”  
“You live with a lot of people then?” Pidge asked, propping her chin up in her hands.  
“Oh yeah, it’s one of the biggest havens in the whole land,” Lance said, “My whole family’s there and a bunch of other people.”

Lance continued to talk until the sun dipped below the horizon, it was nice. Most people who come talked about their travels through the cursed lands and all the brave things they’d achieved there. Lance, talked about his family, talked about living in a haven, talked about his friends. Keith hadn’t even realised he’d moved closer, sitting almost right beside Lance by the time he decided they should get to sleep.

 

Lance stayed all throughout the next day, making the shining white arrows. Keith had no idea how he did it, Lance just seemed to move around the forest, picking certain branches off the trees, running his fingers over them and there was an arrow.  
“How are you doing that?” Pidge asked, perched on his shoulder.  
“What? Making banishment arrows? Well, first I need to find branches that are strong in magic, then boost the natural magic,” Lance said, “It’s amazing really, the branches around here are really receptive.”  
“Huh,” Pidge said, prodding lightly at one of the arrows in Lance’s quiver.  
“No one else who visited could do that,” Keith said, leaning over slightly.  
“Humans can’t do it, but I’m a quarter fae,” Lance shrugged, “It comes in use.”

They did this for the rest of the day, Pidge riding on Lance’s shoulder, Keith following him as he made arrows. As Lance worked, he talked more about his family, stories from when he was a child. Keith couldn’t help but listen, watching how Lance’s face lit up as he talked. He gestured wildly with his hands, smile splitting his face to crinkle his eyes. Lance’s enthusiasm was contagious, it was nice. Keith knew, it couldn’t last.

Lance left the next day, his magic restored, the creatures having grown bored, he needed to get home to his family. He tacked up his horse, Blue, before riding to the edge of the barrier. Pidge and Keith followed to see him off.  
“I’ve marked you on my map,” Lance said, “I’ll be back.”  
“Sure you will,” Keith said, arms crossed over his chest.  
“I will,” Lance frowned, determined.  
“Yeah,” Keith muttered.  
“Don’t die on the way home,” Pidge said.  
Lance smiled, then chuckled, “I won’t, I’ll see you guys!”  
“Bye,” Pidge said, waving.  
Keith waved his hand, watching as Lance vanished among the dead trees. No matter what he said, Lance would not come back, no one ever did.

****

Maybe two weeks later, Keith wasn’t sure, the sound of hoofbeats caused him to look up from where he was carving…something from a branch. A familiar white horse with a familiar rider on her back.  
“See,” Lance grinned, with a wink, “Told you I’d come back.”  
Keith’s jaw had dropped open, his eyes widened.  
“You did,” he said.  
Lance dismounted, “And you didn’t think I would.”  
“Lance?” Pidge appeared from the treeline, “You’re back?!”  
“Yeah, I said I would!” Lance said, face turning slightly confused.  
“No one does,” Keith said, “No one who visits ever comes back.”  
“Oh?” Lance tilted his head to one side.  
His concerned and confused face turned into a grin.  
“Well, I’m here now and do I have a story for you,” he said.

Lance stayed for three days, that’s all his food supplies would allow. After that, he would visit every couple of weeks, telling more and more stories. Keith started to look forwards to Lance’s visits, his smile, his stories, just everything. Keith started keeping tracks of the days again, waiting for the two weeks to pass before Lance visited again. It took a while for him to figure out what the growing warmth in his chest meant, but almost no time at all for him to squash it down. Lance would have enough eventually, travelling many miles through cursed lands, pursued by creatures that would be happy to tear his face off. He hoped that would happen, before the creatures managed to catch him.

****

The two of them sat at the top of the waterfall, looking out over the cursed land. Lance let out a long sigh, tucking his knees up to his chest.  
“I wish I could’ve seen this place before the curse,” he said.  
“Before the curse?” Keith asked softly, tilting his head to one side.  
Lance nodded with a hum, leaning back on his hands.  
“One day a great curse spread across the land, killing anything and everything in its path. Only the places where the fae families lived survived, protected by their magic, these became the havens where the last creatures and plants could live,” he said, “Next week marks the hundred-year anniversary of this event. There’s going to be a celebration of our survival, I want you to come with me.”

Keith froze, turning to look at Lance. He was smiling lightly, nervously. Keith couldn’t answer, he couldn’t think, nothing but a flush travelling across his face.  
“That knife you carry, I can enchant it. There’s strong magic in the blade, Blue can carry both of us,” Lance rambled, looking down at his hands, “If you don’t want to that’s ok, but I think you’d enjoy it. There’s music and food and dancing and you can meet everyone and I’m sure we’ll be able to tell you all sorts of stories and Pidge can come too…”  
“Lance,” Keith said, finally finding his voice.  
Lance cut off his rambling, looking up at Keith.

Keith let out a long breath.  
“I would love too,” he said, “But, I can’t.”  
“Oh,” Lance said, sounding really disappointed.  
“No, no, Lance,” Keith said, taking his hand without thinking, “I really really want to, I just, can’t. I can’t pass the barrier keeping the creatures out, I’ve tried too, I’ve tried I just can’t.”  
Lance stared at him, blinking those beautiful eyes at him. A brilliant smile spread across his face, much to Keith’s surprise.  
“Then I’ll come here,” he said, “I’ll bring some food and we can have a good time here!”  
Keith felt his heart flutter, it was a bit disconcerting.   
“Lance, you can’t not celebrate with your family just for me,” he said.  
Lance squeezed his hand, smiling.  
“Nah, I’ve celebrated with them before, I want to with you,” Lance said.  
Keith stared down at their joined hands.  
“I’m not going to win am I?” he asked.  
“Nope,” Lance said brightly, popping the p.  
Keith couldn’t stop the small smile spreading across his face.  
“Fine, let’s celebrate the world dying.”  
“Keith!” Lance wined, knocking into him.  
Keith tossed his head back, laughing.

****

Keith was excited, standing at the top of the waterfall, looking out for Lance. He didn’t know when Lance would be arriving, but he would keep an eye out for it. Pidge perched on his shoulder, wings twitching with amusement.  
“You’re so desperate,” Pidge snorted, “He won’t come faster the more you hover.”  
Keith glowered at her.  
“You could tell him how you feel,” Pidge shrugged, “I hear celebrations are good for that.”  
“I don’t feel anything and who told you that?” Keith said.  
“You really do and Lance did,” Pidge nodded, “He was going on and on about how romantic festivals were.”  
“It’s hardly a festival with just the three of us,” Keith said.   
Pidge made a noise so Keith knew she was rolling her eyes.

“He’s on his way,” Pidge said, her pixie eyes much better than Keith’s human ones.  
Keith felt a smile spread across his face, trying to look out to spot him.  
“Oh no,” Pidge said suddenly, shooting up off his shoulder.  
“What?” Keith said, “What do you see?”  
“Oh, he’s being attacked,” Pidge said.  
Keith bit his lip, “He can hold his own though.”  
Pidge looked down at him, biting her lip.  
“They’re right on top of him Keith,” she said.  
Keith felt his stomach drop, immediately beginning to clamber down the rocks.  
“He’s outside the barrier, you can’t get to him!” Pidge shouted.  
“I have to do something!” Keith yelled back.

He sprinted towards where Lance normally came from, hoping that he could do something, anything. He needed to get to Lance, he needed to help Lance, Lance couldn’t die, he just couldn’t. He reached the barrier, pressing his hands against it, looking out to the dead forest. It still held strong, not allowing Keith to pass. There was nothing there, not for a little while at least. That was, until he heard screeching and hoofbeats.

“Lance!” Keith shouted, “Lance! Hang on! You’re close!”  
There was no reply, just hoofbeats getting closer and closer. Keith pressed against the barrier, trying to fight through the force pushing him back.  
“Lance!” he shouted again, “Blue! Here girl!”  
There was a snort and Keith finally caught sight of Blue, creatures hanging off her, a figure slumped over her back. There was blood, so much blood covering Blue’s back and side. Lance seemed to be barely hanging on, the creatures scratching and biting at him, others swooping to claw at his back.  
“Hang on!” Keith shouted, “You’re almost here.”  
He tried to push through the barrier again, tried punching it, kicking, nothing, it wouldn’t give.  
“Lance!” he shouted, feeling his eyes burn.  
Blue seemed to be pushing herself as hard as she could, sweat foaming, ears pinned back.  
“Come on Blue!” Keith shouted, “Come on girl!”

She threw herself the last few meters, shooting through the barrier. The creatures slammed into the barrier, their claws still digging into Lance, pulling him backwards. Keith lunged forwards, grabbing whatever he could. Lance, covered in his own blood, eyes hazy in pain, grabbed an arrow. He drove it forwards into the creature still holding onto him, it dissolved, allowing Keith to pull Lance all the way through the barrier.

There was so much blood, all over Lance, all over Blue and now all over Keith. His breath hitched at the sheer amount, Lance was barely conscious. Hauling Lance into his arms, Keith began to run back to the lake. He didn’t know why he was heading towards the lake, but something, some instinct was telling him to go there.

Pidge was hovering at the treeline.  
“Oh no,” she said, spotting an unconscious Lance in Keith’s arms, “What do we do?”  
“I don’t know,” Keith said, tears starting to stream down his face.  
“Here,” a soft voice whispered, calling him towards the lake.  
Keith ran over, boots sinking into the soft mud on the bank.  
“The water,” the soft voice said.  
Keith lowered Lance into the lake, until everything but his head was in the water. He wrapped his arms around him, tucking Lance close to his chest.  
“Please,” Keith sobbed, “Please, save him.”

There was a glow from the lake, shimmering silver-blue dancing over the surface. It rippled towards Lance, swirling around him and Keith. It glowed brighter and brighter, Keith soon having to close his eyes against the light. He tightened his grip on Lance’s torso, holding him as close as physically possible.  
“Please, please don’t die,” Keith hissed, “I love you.”

The glow faded, allowing Keith to open his eyes, then stare down at Lance. His wounds were gone, eyes still closed, chest rising and falling in a peaceful rhythm. That wasn’t what Keith was staring at, Lance’s hair had gone white, ears pointed, small blue markings under his eyes.  
“He will turn back shortly, I simply had to invoke his fae side to heal him,” a familiar voice said.  
Keith looked up, there was a woman stood in the centre of the lake. She was glowing the same blue-silver as the magic that had covered the lake, floating a little with no physical form.  
“Hello Keith,” she smiled, “It is good to see you again.”

She was familiar, Keith knew her, he knew he knew her. He just, couldn’t think where from. She glided over the lake, coming to rest right in front of him.  
“I am Allura,” she said, “I need you to remember Keith, I need you to remember who I am, I need you to remember everything.”  
“What?” Keith stuttered.  
Allura bent down, resting her hands either side of his face.  
“Remember Keith,” she said.  
Keith made a startled noise as things became to come back to him. A palace, servants, his dad, Shiro, his birthday. He jerked his head back, staring up at Allura. Tears began to drip more in earnest down his face.  
“I’m sorry, I know it’s painful,” Allura said softly, “But it’s important.”  
“I’m,” Keith said softly, “I’m a prince? What…what happened to me?”

Allura floated there, looking over at him, calm and peaceful.  
“What do you remember? From that last night?”  
“There was a tower,” Keith said, frowning deeply.  
The memories were a bit hazy, but they were there.  
“I went to the top of it, there was a woman with a spinning wheel, she asked me to try it out. I…I don’t know why, but I thought it was a good idea,” Keith said, hesitating, “There was a pain in my finger and, nothing.”  
Allura nodded, looking up at the sky.  
“That will have been the witch, Haggar. When you were born, you were cursed that on your eighteenth birthday, you would prick your finger on the spindle of the spinning wheel and die. In doing so, her magic would be released and she would be able to curse the land,” Allura said, “I was able to manipulate the magic, make it that you would simply fall asleep, to be awakened by true love’s kiss. Now, it didn’t have to be romantic, simply love. So Haggar set about stopping anyone from loving you, you know what happened next.”

His mother, vanished when out hunting monsters. His father, dead in a fire. Shiro, his personal guard and basically his brother, kidnapped on his journey back to the palace. No one else wanting to be his friend, Keith was alone in the world.  
“By the time your eighteenth birthday came around, there was no one who could break your curse,” Allura said sadly, “I decided to give up my physical form, allowing you to take one, giving you a chance to find someone.”  
Keith looked down at Lance in his arms, his appearance having gone back to normal.  
“Midnight tonight marks 100 years since the curse, when the clock strikes twelve your body will die, Haggar’s full power will be unleashed and not even the havens will be safe,” Allura said, “The spell must be broken tonight.”  
Keith nodded, Lance was starting to stir, eyes fluttering lightly. When he looked up again, Allura was gone.

“Well, damn,” Pidge said, floating over to land on a reed.  
“Yeah,” Keith said softly, “We’ve got a lot to do.”  
Standing up, Lance in his arms, Keith hauled them both out of the lake. Lowering Lance down onto the grass, Keith shook Lance’s shoulder gently.  
“Lance, Lance wake up,” he said.  
His eyes fluttered open with a groan, before landing on Keith’s face.  
“Keith?” he mumbled.  
Letting out a relieved breath, Keith pulled him into a tight hug.  
“Woah,” Lance said softly, “What happened?”  
“You were attacked,” Pidge said, landing on Lance’s shoulder, “You’re lucky to be alive.”  
“Huh,” Lance said softly.  
Keith indulged for another few seconds, but had to get moving. He pulled away, standing up and holding out his hand for Lance to take.  
“Come with me,” he said.

Together, the two of them climbed up the waterfall, Keith watching as the sun slowly began to set. They didn’t have long, they needed to get moving.  
“I need your help,” Keith said as they stood on the highest point.  
“Keith? What’s wrong?” Lance asked, a deep frown on his face.  
“We need to stop the curse on the land by midnight,” Keith said, locking eyes with Lance.  
“Stop the curse?” Lance said, “We’ve tried, we can’t, there isn’t enough magic.”  
“I know how to do it,” Keith said, pointing out over the land, “Over there, there’s a castle, you need to go there.”  
“There aren’t any havens that way,” Lance said, biting his lip, “No one’s ever been there.”  
“The havens are going to be destroyed at midnight, if we don’t do something,” Keith said, looking back at Lance’s wide eyes.  
“I, ok,” he said softly.

“This is going to be hard to understand, but I need you to trust me,” Keith said, reaching out.  
His hands passed right through Lance’s, he couldn’t even feel them. Lance stared at their hands.  
“I need you to go to that castle, there’s a hidden staircase in the library, you need too pull the statue’s arm by the fireplace,” Keith said in a rush, he was feeling tired, “Go up it, you’ll find me at the top, I need you to kiss me.”  
“What?” Lance said alarmed, “Keith! You’re fading!”  
 “Just trust me Lance!” Keith shouted, darkness creeping to the edge of his vision, “Just do it!”  
Lance hesitated for a second.  
“Alright, Lance said, locking eyes with him, “I’ll do it.  
Keith smiled, the world went dark.

****

Lance stood there, on top of the waterfall watching as Keith completely faded from view. In his place, stood a sword. It was glowing slightly with silver-blue light. He picked the sword up, feeling magic surge through the hilt into his fingers. Alright, he would just have to trust Keith, head in the direction he indicated, hope there was the castle there along with the key to breaking the curse.

He clambered back down the waterfall, Pidge was hovering at the bottom.  
“Where’s Keith? Did your terrible kissing drive him away?” she asked mockingly.  
“What?” Lance said, taken aback, “What are you talking about?”  
“Well, I just assumed you were heading up there to make out after he helped save your life,” Pidge shrugged.  
“No, he was telling me how I can get rid of the curse,” Lance said, looking over at her, “Do you want to come?”  
“Out there?” Pidge said, raising her eyebrow.  
“Out there,” Lance confirmed.  
Pidge moved over to land on his shoulder.  
“Come on then, let’s go.”

There were lots and lots of creatures outside the barrier, prowling up and down, watching them.  
“So, now what?” Pidge said.  
“I,” Lance hesitated, then notices all the creature’s eyes were on the sword.  
He raised it, they blanched. Pointing it at them, he swung. The creatures flinched away, Lance let out a breath.  
“Ok, I think we can do this.”

They burst from the barrier, Blue breaking into a canter. The creatures parted for them, moving away from the glowing sword. The further they travelled though, the bigger and braver the creatures became. It was a general rule that you should never travel outside the havens at night, that was when the biggest and scariest creatures came out. If he was to get to the palace by midnight, Lance didn’t have much of a choice.

Blue kept going, ploughing ever onwards even as the creatures stopped being scared of the sword. Lance wasn’t the only one with magic blood running through his veins. They were being attacked almost constantly, Lance swinging the sword to get rid of them, they dissolved upon immediate contact.

It was getting exhausting, the full moon crawling slowly across the sky as the night wore on. Pidge was doing what little she could, pointing out attacking creatures and using the little magic she had to stun them when they got too close.

Blue put on an extra burst of speed, Lance glanced forwards to see huge towers rising up into the sky. They came to a screeching halt, path blocked by huge twisted thorny vines. They were so tightly packed together, it was impossible to pass without being shredded. Blue reared, turning. The creatures prowled in front of them, forming a semi-circle around them.   
“They seem to be waiting for something,” Lance said.  
“Yeah,” Pidge replied, “I do not want to know what it is, can you hold them off?”  
Lane turned to her, “I think so?”  
“Good,” Pidge nodded, “I may be able to make you a path, I need time.”  
“Go for it,” Lance said.  
There was a slight whisper of air as Pidge took off, making her way over to the thorns.

The creature’s forms began to dissolve, bubbling and moving together to form one large mass. It began to take shape, forming huge legs and a head filled with deadly sharp teeth. Lance stared, his mouth dropping open.  
“Oh no.”  
The creature bubbled one last time, before settling on its new huge form. It lunged, and the fight was on.  

Blue jumped out of the way of the huge jaws, Lance tried to take a swing at it but no luck. It swung with a clawed hand, again, Blue darted out of the way. Lance kicked at her sides, getting her to gallop forwards towards the creature, before turning suddenly as it swiped to try and get it off balance. Didn’t work, extra legs sprouted from its body to keep its balance. Its tail swung from seemingly out of nowhere, Blue tried to jump but it was too late. He legs were swept from under her and Lance was thrown completely off her back.

Hitting the ground hard, Lance tried to ease his fall by rolling. Rocks dug into his torso, air knocked clean out of him. He didn’t have time to get his barings back before the creature lunged again, Lance barely dodging it. He scrambled to his feet, grabbing the sword from where he’d dropped it and sprinting away. Blue had scrambled to her feet, trying to get towards him but the thorny vines had grown to cut her off.

Lance sprinted away, feeling the heat of the creature’s breath on his back. It snapped again and Lance moved to the side, swinging the sword out to try hit it. Didn’t work. He couldn’t hit the thing and now he couldn’t keep running, there was a cliff. Lance turned, seeing the huge thing slowly approach him. It reared up, opening its mouth in an ear-splitting roar. The sword began to glow, one last shot. Mustering up the last of his strength, Lance threw the sword. It hit the creature straight in the chest, it gave a horrifying scream as silver-blue light spread across it like lightening, before shattering into shadows, taking the sword with it.  
“Holy crow,” Lance said softly.

Lance quickly made his way back to where Pidge was, the vines glowing green. A hole had opened up in them, just big enough for Lance to squeeze through.  
“I can’t hold it for long, get moving,” she said.  
“Alright,” Lance nodded, squeezing through the hole.

The vines scratched at his skin and clothes, seeming to ooze death. Lance kept moving though, even as something was screaming at him to turn back. Finally, he burst out on the other side, right in front of a huge wooden door. It swung open on horribly rusted hinges, only far enough for Lance to slip through.

The entrance hall was huge, covered in thick dust but still showing hints of its former glory. There were people here, covered in dust, sleeping wherever they had been when the curse had started. Lance needed to find the library, but this place was huge and he had practically no time left.   
“Here,” a voice whispered, “Over here.”  
Lance turned to where he thought he heard it.  
“This way,” it whispered again.  
With no other ideas, Lance followed the voice through the maze of halls. It let him to a door, rotting and half hanging off its hinges. Kicking it down, Lance headed into the musty old library. Locating the fireplace, he pulled the arm of the statue, the back of the fireplace sliding away, a staircase behind it.

It was creepy, full of cobwebs and more dust. Lance began to climb. The somehow untouched clock tower began to chime. Lance had a feeling he wasn’t lucky enough for it to only be eleven. He began to run, taking the steps two at a time. Why were there so many.

Another door at the top of the staircase, this one in much better condition covered in spiky vines. Lance tore at them, the thorns cutting his hands to pieces, he didn’t care. Slamming his shoulder into the door, Lance stumbled into the small round room at the top. More vines were filling the room, there though, in the centre was Keith. The vines seemed unable to touch him, nothing but brilliant red roses surrounding his sleeping figure. Lance stumbled over, falling to his knees by his side. Leaning over and, as the clock struck twelve, he pressed their lips together.

There was a beat, then another, Lance hovered above him. Was he too late? What was supposed to happen? Suddenly, Keith made a noise, a groan, then his eyes fluttered open. Lance smiled down at him, then reeled back in pain as Keith’s fist connected with his jaw.  
“What the hell?!”  
Keith’s eyes widened as he realised what he’d done.  
“Oh god, sorry,” Keith said, scrambling up and over to him, “I’m sorry, I didn’t realise it was you.”  
“Ow,” Lance groaned, cradling his jaw.  
“Sorry,” Keith muttered, pulling his hand away to check, “You’re fine.”  
“That really hurt,” Lance pouted.  
Keith laughed, leaning forwards to press a kiss to his jaw, before pressing one to Lance’s pout.  
“How can I make it up to you?” Keith hummed.  
“You can kiss me more,” Lance said.  
Keith laughed, curling his arm around Lance’s neck. Leaning forwards, he pressed their lips together. Lance curled his arms around Keith’s waist, kissing back with enthusiasm.

Outside, the thorny vines dissolved into red roses, blowing away on the breeze. As they spread out across the land, grass and trees sprung back to life, creatures dissolved into nothing. The residents of the castle woke up, looking around in confusion at their ruined surroundings. In the glade where Keith had been trapped for the last hundred years, a fully-reformed Allura stood in the centre of the lake, smiling up at the sky.  
“Well done,” she said, fluttering her wings lightly, “You did it.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to do a sleeping beauty AU, but not just following the beats of the movie, so this thing was born.
> 
> Anyway, yeah...comments and kudos are always appreciated, I hope you enjoyed it.


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